Without a doubt, I have had a good year of it.
It began with a 24 hour mini break in May to see Billy Budd at Covent Garden and attend Van Gogh and Britain at Tate Britain. Then there was Figaro at Covent Garden in June. Which was followed by La fille du régiment at Covent Garden in July and a bonus visit to the Royal Academy for Felix Vallotton.
My warm, sun-drenched early departure in July was not repeated. By mid September, the day was contracting and Blundellsands and Crosby station was encountered in the dawn's early light before heading into Liverpool to catch a train to the capital. Mild but brisk btw.
Arriving just after 10am on a Saturday morning in September, I was surprised to see how deserted Covent Garden was. I knew that it wasn't the time of year or day for masses of tourists but for there to be scarcely any seemed odd. It made me wonder just how much effect Brexit has had on the mind set of European folk wanting to visit this country. Do we have any statistics about any drop in national income through tourism over the past three years?
Had it not been for a cheap day train fare and Roland's ability to get me a £25 ticket for a morning dress rehearsal, I would not have considered attending this set of performances. In the event, I made the right choice to snap up the opportunity. And, in passing, I should note that the audience comprised rather a lot of middle-aged men who'd brought their nephews with them (hem). One lad certainly had a very large box but then what can you expect in an opera house.
I'll not press for it being the greatest work in the canon but it is solid, enjoyable and packs a punch at the end. Benoît Jacquot's production was sensibly stylised drawing any number of spare contemporary painters of interior scenes. Edward Gardner kept the pulse of the music flowing and allowed the emotional surges to grow and swell.
The cast were uniformly good but I was there for Juan Diego Flórez who was taking a step up in terms of the weight of role the has been traditionally singing. Unlike Carreras and Alagna before him, he has held back from big Verdi in big houses. I was impressed. His French diction is excellent and, for a rehearsal, he didn't hold back. So glad I went.
I met up with Leo and we had coffee and food and a wander round Covent Garden taking in various shops before I headed off to Euston and home.
